Roller skate construction having pivotal heel

Abstract

A roller type skate construction having a rear wheel assembly comprising a fixed platform having a lower horizontal surface from which depend a plurality of casters, each having a horizontal axis of rotation and at least some having a vertical axis of rotation in offset relation, whereby a skater may execute a turn while standing in place by pivoting about an axis through the ball of the foot, the heel portion moving laterally to describe an arc about said axis.

I claim: 
     
       1. In a roller skate including a platform element and a wheeled means at forward and rearward ends thereof and having means for engaging the foot of the user to an upper surface of said platform element, improved means for permitting lateral movement of a rear portion of said platform relative to a principal axis of said platform comprising: a rear wheel element including a body secured to said platform element at the rearward end thereof, at least one caster mounted upon and extending downwardly from a lower surface of said body, said caster including a vertically extending shaft pivotally associated with said body, a caster housing carried by said shaft, and a wheel arranged for rotation about a horizontal axis offset with respect to the axis of said vertically extending shaft; and at least one wheel on said rear wheel element, the axis of which is fixed perpendicular to the principal axis of said skate, and positioned such that the lower periphery thereof continuously lies in a common horizontal plane with the lower periphery of said wheel of said caster and said forward wheeled means whereby when said user executes a pivotal movement about said forward end of said skate, said last mentioned wheel is slid laterally with relative little rotation to provide a measure of frictional resistance to the pivoting motion, thereby enabling said user to better control said pivotal movement. 
     
     
       2. The improvement in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wheels on said rear element having coplanar axes of rotation fixed perpendicular to said principal axis of said skate, and a plurality of said caster wheels positioned immediately rearwardly of said last mentioned plurality of wheels.